Commanders,

I want to put some informations about Artillery,Skirmishers,Columns...
Maybe you will need this informations and try to use them in the following battles.

MELEE

Defenders:

•  Lancers defend at 75% of full strength

•  Routed units defend at 50% of full strength

•  Defenders made to retreat after melee and attacked again defend at 50% of full strength

Attackers:

•  Heavy Cavalry and Lancers attack at + 25% of full strength

•  Disordered units attack at 50% of full strength

•  Attacking through a gate is 50% of full strength

•  All units attacking into a chateau attack at 50% of full strength plus all other modifiers

•  If all attacking units are cavalry and moved in charge phase against defenders that are not all cavalry or infantry in square, total attack value is x3 to attack value

•  French and Prussians in column attack at + 25% of full strength

Both:

•  Quality 6 and up units receive a +1

•  Quality 2 and less units receive a -1

•  Skirmisher losses are reduced by 80%

Modifiers

Attackers:

•  If none of the attacking units fire they receive a +1 (auto to cavalry)

•  Attacking units with low fatigue receive a -1

•  Attacking units with high fatigue receive a -2

•  Attacker receives a +2 for attacking defender outside their facing hexsides (flank)

•  Attacker having a leader receive a +1

•  Attacks through a high wall or gate receive a -4

Defenders:

•  If the defender does not fire prior to attack from units that they could of fired at, they get a +1 (auto to cavalry)

•  If any of the attackers are attacking uphill, defender receives a +1

•  Defender having a leader receive a -1

Notes:

•  Cavalry attacking through an obstructed hexside loses attack bonus

•  Attacker through obstructed hexsides, the maximum hexside modifier applies

•  Non-skirmishers do not suffer disorder in melee with skirmishers

•  A unit defending in a chateau against a melee attack will not retreat

•  A leader who has already participated in a melee does not add his bonus to any subsequent melee during the same phase

•  If one attacking unit is disordered, ALL units in the same attack will be at ½ strength

•  Cavalry charging skirmishers in Building hex do not get charge bonus

•  When one or more skirmishers in a clear or building hex are attacked by non-skirmishers, they lose if their unadjusted losses are at least half those of the attacker

•  Infantry units who form square with another unit (i.e. guns) lose the benefits of square vs. cavalry charges.

SKIRMISHERS

•  Skirmishers do not get disordered in melee against Leaders, Supply Wagons and “Red Triangle” hexes

•  Skirmishers do not get a bonus for Enfilade fire

•  Cavalry charging skirmishers in Building hex do not get charge bonus

•  Some units are “Restricted” and can't deploy skirmishers (Landwere)

•  When one or more skirmishers in a clear or building hex are attacked by non-skirmishers, they lose if their unadjusted losses are at least half those of the attacker

•  Guard units can deploy completely into skirmishers

•  When a skirmisher becomes routed, only skirmishers in the hexes adjacent to it undergo an auto moral check

•  When a skirmisher with a higher fatigue than its parent unit rejoins it, the fatigue of the parent unit increases by one

•  When friendly skirmishers and cavalry occupy the same hex, the skirmishers automatically become disordered but the cavalry becomes disordered only if the skirmishers exceed 250

•  Skirmisher losses in melee are reduced by 80%

•  If the strength value of all skirmishers in a hex exceeds 250, the skirmisher defensive benefit does not apply.

•  Skirmishers do not negate the defensive effect of squares when charged by cavalry

•  Skirmishers are prevented from voluntarily moving adjacent to enemy cavalry except when moving in to a non-clear, non field hex unless a line battalion is already there or when separated from the cavalry by a creek or high wall

•  Skirmishers re-supply from wagons but do not reduce the S#

MORALE

Modifiers:

•  -1 if the unit is stacked with any friendly leader

•  +1 if the unit is suffering from low/no ammo

•  +1 if the unit was already Disordered

•  +1 if the unit is suffering from Low Fatigue

•  +2 if the unit was already suffering from High Fatigue

•  +2 if the unit was fired on Enfilade

•  +2 if it is a night turn

•  +6 if the unit was already Routed

Notes:

•  When a unit other than a skirmisher is eliminated by fire, one other unit (random) in same hex takes a rout check and has its fatigue increased by one

•  Rally is now possible at night. Morale at night is half the normal moral (rounded up

•  A unit taking a loss from a ranged fire attack suffers only one one-level increase in fatigue

•  Units in hard cover (woods, villages, Chateaux) will not re-order once disordered

•  Except at night, the rally bonus of a corps-level or higher leader extends into adjacent hexes

•  Units in line become disordered when they share a hex with column or routed units. Column does not disorders when routed units join or pass through

LEADERS

•  Leaders can enter Chateau hexes

•  A leader, supply wagon or routed unit can not change the control of an objective hex

ARTILLERY

•  Horse artillery may unlimber in the movement phase

•  Un-crewed artillery does not have a threat value

•  Overrun limbered artillery are eliminated when overrun by cavalry

•  If you will have a negative modifier, only fire if enemy is very close (4 hexes or less)

•  Do not fire at unlimbered artillery unless it cannot hit you

•  Artillery fire at more than one unit in line in the same hex, all line units are hit

Max ranges (to cause any harm): A - 16-18 B - 13-15 C - 10-12 D - 10-12

Best: A - 6 or less B - 4 or less C - 3 or less D - 3 or less

CAVALRY

Battles of cavalry vs. cavalry are perhaps the trickiest encounters to handle in the Battleground games, but also among the most important. Wise commanders use cavalry to secure their flanks on defence but also use their horse to attempt to turn their enemy's flanks. Thus, cavalry will often square off against each other in the all-important fights for position on the flanks..

First of all, remember that cavalry loses its powerful charge bonus against other cavalry, so the charge feature only gives your horsemen the benefit of added mobility. But if you use it wisely, you can set up devastating zone of control attacks on the enemy horse, coming up out of nowhere to cut off his lines of retreat and eliminate whole brigades in one successful melee. Which will make your VP total very healthy indeed.

One trick of the trade to note. Cavalry in the same hex as non-horse units (even a supply wagon) are treated like any other unit, ie: if you charge them, you get the triple bonus. It's cheesy, but if you can somehow manage to drive an infantry or other unit into the same hex as your opponent's cavalry regiment, any charge against that hex will be tripled.

And for heaven's sake, USE THE TERRAIN TO ADVANTAGE! Place your cavalry so that there are obstructions between them and opposing horse, which will disorder them if they attempt to charge you and cut their strength in half.

The importance of mastering the basics of cavalry combat cannot be overstated: break your regiments down into squadrons before charging and keep them within command-control radius of their brigade leaders,it is very importend!

Because of the absence of that nasty triple charge bonus, all battles are fought at even odds (except those involving lancers or heavy horse: more on that later), so keep your regiments and brigades together and in stacks as close to the maximum per hex of 1,000 horse. If they're strung out in a line of 100-strength squadrons, they can be picked off one by one in a successful charge and series of melees.

The exception to the above rule is when your cavalry is providing a screen to protect retreating infantry or artillery against enemy horse. A line of 100 or less strength squadrons can often frustrate massed cavalry attacks if placed carefully to cover the entire area they are screening with their ZOCs. You will lose cavalry when your opponent charges, but only one squadron at a time. If your squadrons are only 25-men strong your opponent may well lose more than you, since you can only take one 25-horse loss. But this is only a delaying tactic, and can only put off the inevitable.

Third, use the counter-charge function as much as possible. One of the most common mistakes made by inexperienced cavalry officers (such as the unfortunate Ponsonby at the actual battle of Waterloo) is to press their charge one hex too far. You mount a glorious and successful charge only to find yourself surrounded by the enemy and eliminated in a counter-attack during the next turn. It's happened to the best of us ...

One way of avoiding this is leaving yourself a rearguard: a squadron that charges with the rest of the attack, but does not melee. Instead it stays back, holding that one crucial hex open as an avenue of retreat. Even if an enemy ZOC cuts that route off, the presence of a friendly unit will allow your other units to retreat (as long as there's room in that hex for them: remember the 1,000 cavalry per hex limit!)

The counter-charge is another way around this problem. You're charging during your opponent's turn, which means you can scurry back to safer ground during your movement phase. Not to mention the fun of foiling all his carefully planned charges! Just remember that only one stack at a time can counter-charge one target: no ganging up from different hexes as in the regular charge phase.

So plan on counter-charging. Position your stacks of cavalry to cover the approaches from which an enemy charge might come, and don't forget that the counter-charging unit(s) must have a clear field across which to charge. One skirmisher in the way and it won't work. Plan carefully and position your lads to cover threatened areas, preferably from hexes that are invisible to the enemy.

Fourth; toujours l'audace! Especially against lancers and heavy horse. It's better to attack lancers, when they defend at 75% strength, than to let them hit you with their 10% attacking bonuses. Same goes for heavies, although they defend at normal strength.

And by all means try to use combined arms to your advantage: a brigade or two of infantry can help secure your lines of retreat and guard against getting cut off and eliminated. And we all know what artillery can do to cavalry ....

In addition to the horse-on-horse battles for the flanks, cavalry can also be a valuable defensive commodity.

As a last resort, cavalry can be thrown into the breach to cover the retreat of your infantry and artillery, especially if you're playing using the house rules on skirmishers/infantry vs. cavalry.

Throw up a screen of cavalry squadrons between your troops and the enemy: the advancing infantry/skirmishers can't get closer than 2 hexes in most cases and it will take time to bring up artillery or their own cavalry to clear the way. This is however, an expensive way to cover a retreat, since your cavalry will take losses from musket and artillery fire. To be used only as a last resort ...

SOME INFORMATIONS ABOUT CAVALERY ARE BY Colonel C. Wattie. Thank you.


"One of cuirassier regiments developed a unique test for newly assigned officers.
You were given 3 horses, 3 bottles of champagne, and 3 'willing girls' -
and 3 hours to kill the champagne, cover the girls and ride a rough 20-mile course.
(Of course you could draw up your own schedule of events".

RANGED FIRE

•  Fire from infantry in column is reduced by 80%

•  Fire from infantry in square is reduced by 75%

•  Fire from infantry in 4-rank is reduced by 25 %

•  Fire from infantry in 2-rank is increased by 50%

•  Fire from infantry in disorder is reduced by 50%

•  Fire in the Offensive Fire Phase from units that moved in the Movement Phase is reduced by 50%

•  Fire against skirmisher units is reduced by 75%

•  Artillery fire vs. infantry in column or square is increased by 50%

•  Infantry ranged fire vs. infantry in column or square is increased by 25%

•  Ranged fire against limbered artillery is increased by 50%

Modifiers:

•  Enfiladed fire +2

•  Vs. Cavalry - range 1-6 /+2, 7-12/ +1, 12+/ 0

•  Quality 6 and up +1

•  Hex sides -1 Embankment, Up Elevation (per elevation, Hedge

-2 Stone Wall,

-4 High Wall, Gate

•  Terrain -1 Forest

-2 Village, Building (skirmishers only)

•  Firing through skirmishers -1

Notes:

•  A unit taking a loss from a ranged-fire attack now suffers only a one level increase in fatigue

•  Positive modifiers are cumulative, but not higher than +2

Commanders,

Here is the second part about chateaux.

The Type of Troops

Finally, some good news, the only troops allowed in a chateau is infantry, and infantry comes in two forms. Skirmishers and Line Bn. (lord help us if the game allowed artillery!) Skirmishers are the toughest, so we'll talk about those suckers later.

Line Bn.

Line. Bn. Have two big weaknesses in defending a chateaux. 1. Line Bn. does not reduce ranged fire, so cannon from 3-5 hexes can still inflict a good hurt!

2. Line Bn. cannot form a square in a chateau, so they must be in column or line and therefore they have a flank. Which is a lot more important than you think.

Your best bet here is to just blast away with cannon and infantry lines, don't bother meleeing them at all.. Most likely the numbers and odds will be too great anyway. They WILL eventually rout out of the chateau or be destroyed from your cannon's. All it takes is time; if it must be done quickly, bring more cannon. Only melee when/if the numbers get reasonable (like BELOW 100 left), and then send in one or two columns for the Coup de Gras. Of course, if they all die, melee with what you have in the area for that "defending hex overrun" and take that freebee!

Routing

While we are on the subject, this is probably a good time to diverge to the subject of troops routing out of a chateau. First, YES, it does happen. So:

"Show them a way to live, that way they will not be so willing to fight to the death" - Sun Tzu. If you want the defenders to rout, DO NOT surround the chateau, well, at least not completely. Your best beat is to secure the ground around the chateau so you can leave the exists/entrances open, and have no fear of reinforcements arriving. If you can't do that, get ZOC's around the entire chateau, but still allow an exit to be open. Its a tricky maneuver, but can be done. The problem here is a troop will rout at the beginning of your foe's movement phase, which means he will be able to re-man it if you keep an exit open. This (sometimes) can be prevented with creative ZOC's. Figure it out. This is also why the flank of the columns and lines help out a bunch. If you are lucky enough to get a line enfilade, then not only will you get a +2 to your FRT roll, but you also get that ever important +2 DRM to the rout check! If their in column, no big deal, no +2 FRT mod but cannon still get there 50% increase in fire factor (25% for infantry lines), and the +2 DRM for the rout check still applies. Even Qual-7 troops have a chance of routing with just the enfilade modifier; qual-5 or 4 forget it … they are out of there.

Skirmishers

This is your nightmare. Skirmishers defending a Chateau. First, if there are more than 250 of them in it, blast away just like it was a Line Bn. Until their numbers are reduced to 250 or less (hopefully you can get them to like 275, and kill 50-100 to get them actually below the 250 skirmish mark, and not right at it). It is very helpful to have the chateau isolated by this point too, otherwise more troops will keep piling in and you'll never get anywhere. Remember; leave an exit open if you can! At this point, the skirmishers have a good chance to rout, if not completely destroyed, w/t ranged fire. Once one rout's, they all disorder making the rest easier to rout, then when a couple start running low on ammo, they rout even easier, etc.. etc.. Once the skirmishers hit the 250 skirmish mark, or if your foe was smart enough not to overload the chateau, life becomes miserable. And this really becomes a game of understanding the game mechanics, lucky rolls, and throwing columns of troops upon the chateau, hoping & praying that you don't lose too many troops, or fatigue too many troops in the attempt. [Editors Note: if you are playing with the optional isolation rule, once skirmishers get below the 250 mark, and are isolated, their effective force is 125 or less, almost making it possible to melee with some decent odds, w/o sacrificing your entire army in the process.] Also, after a couple of failed melee's (it will happen!) the troops inside the chateaux fatigue should be up around the 4+ mark and beginning to affect the rout chances. At this point you might want to really consider giving the troops a path out (of course w/o allowing more troops in), and letting the cannon try and get the lucky 25-man hit and get the defenders to flee. This is important, even if you can't get them all to run, at least you can reduce their numbers, making the melee's a little less painful.

Combo Best bet here. Treat them like you would any Chateau defended by battalions, try getting them to rout and hope they take the skirmishers with them. If they don't, make sure you have read the section on skirmishers real well.

The Strength

The actual numbers are not as important as the quality of the troops defending the chateau. Everyone knows what a pain those qual-7 Footguard/Coldstream skirmishers are. We've all tried to dig them out of Hogomount before. It's not that easy, is it? But yet, those qual-4 skirmishers in and around Papelotte seem to go much easier. Weird. Numbers are numbers, and all numbers can be defeated with more numbers, quality on the other hand. Quality can overcome numbers and situation, and lets face it they got a good situation here. Which means its just that much more difficult.

Examples of melee's

2-100 man skirmishers are in a chateaux, to melee it w/t 6:1 odds you must attack with 2400 infantry. I.e. it can't be done..

Check out this table…

Those are some horrible numbers. A brief summary on game mechanics.

What that means, if your fire, upon ANY target has a greater negative modifier than the one given in the Max. Modifier column, you CANNOT do damage to that target, all you can do is increase the fatigue, and if the modifier is two greater "negatively" than that value, you can't even do that. Remember this. Oh yeah, the qual-6+ (mod 1) to fire increases the Max. Modifier by one.

Here's something else. When skirmishers are below the skirmish line (250 troops or less in a hex), the MAXIMUM fire that 6class D cannons can do (at range one) is 18. No higher, that's at range one, and range two its 12 (that's A, B, or D's) and at range 3 (for A's or B's) its 8.